To browse Academia. But even that limited role is threatened as farm sizes and participation rates contract even further in the face of a multitude of factors. The preamble and foreword to the Vision document tried to address this question but they remain inconclusive. What are the reasons for the poor performance of horticultural products in Lesotho despite growing demand for the products worldwide and in the country?
Are there important non-price factors that we should take into account in deciding on appropriate policies for revitalizing the farm sector in a country where few alternative opportunities for employment exist? There are indications that property rights, the agricultural extension service and the condition of the physical infrastructure may be crucial elements in finding answers to these problems.
The results particularly point to the difficulties in accessing markets and land which remain important institutional constraints to horticulture production and marketing in Lesotho. Recommendations are made for these issues to be incorporated into the Vision process, among other processes underway to address the growing national food insecurity and enhance livelihoods in general.
Poverty is said to be very high in developing countries, and many people live below the poverty line. There are different causes of poverty, but the most common one is food insecurity. Therefore, the contribution of agriculture to ensuring food security in the poor countries cannot be ignored. Although many farmers in some developing countries practise subsistence farming, agriculture accounts for a large share to the means of livelihood in the rural areas of developing countries.
Despite the large contribution of agriculture to rural development in developing countries, the sector agriculture is confronted with many different challenges. There is low agricultural productivity especially in peasant farming because of the use of traditional technologies, and other factors. And this results in food insecurity in many households. However, countries implement different programmes and policies to increase productivity in agriculture. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business and Management Dynamics Sustainable economies in the information economy, Many of the Third World countries are characterised by high levels of poverty in the rural areas.
